Watch List notes:

Sweden, Gustav Vasa SM 182 16 öre 1543 20.14 g. Svartsjö. R. Small planchet flaw on obverse. SMB 50. This scarce and historically interesting coinage is part of a series of klippes and round coins struck during the so called Dacke War (Dackefejden) 1542-43. Nils Dacke, whose name this feudal uprising against King Gustav I bears, was a farmer from Vissefjärda in the southern part of Kalmar County, close to the Danish border in Danish Blekinge County. The unrest was stemming from King Gustav's approach to centralise power, which resulted in increased taxation enforcement and politics concerning the Church. Initially in November 1542, an agreement was made whereby Dacke was elected leader for the farmers of Småland County. Kronoberg Castle, located by Helgasjön (Helga lake) a few km north of Växjö, served as base for Dacke and he put forward several reforms. E.g. resumption of border trade with Denmark and some important changes relating to the Church. King Gustav could hardly accept this contraction of his own policies and thus in the Spring of 1543 the King attacked Dacke and his men. After a few months of clashes, eventually Nils Dacke was killed in August. It has been told that the King posthumously gibbeted the body of Dacke for public display in Kalmar's gallows hill. Out of savagery the King left nothing to chance and imprisoned Dacke's son and let him perish and starve to death. The interesting klippes are the first square coinage of Sweden where the dies have been specifically made for striking on square planchets. Klippe coinage has an advantage over round coinage in that the production method was faster and easier, thus also cheaper to produce. Thence the Crown has often struck klippe coinage in times of political unrest or urgent need of coinage. In conjunction with the Dacke War there was an immediate need to supply payment to Danish mercenaries. The odd denomination of 15 öre is related to the King's hope that the mercenaries would accept 15 öre to 1 gyllen in payment. In reality this was of course not accepted by the soldiers. Hence the klippe series was widely not accepted by the soldiers as payment, and the round coinage of 16 öre was consequently struck. One gyllen was equal to 18 öre at the time, so in the end The King did manage to get a discount... 1/1+